By Franklin L. Kirksey, Pastor, First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort, Alabama, and author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice

These expositions by Dr. Kirksey are offered to suggest sermon or Bible study ideas for pastors and other church leaders, both from the exposition and from the illustrative material, or simply for personal devotion.

Introduction

Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer (1912-1984) wrote a monumental work in the 1970s titled How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture.  I remember seeing the film documentary soon after they released it.

John writes to Gaius in 3 John verse 4, “For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth.  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”

Scholars define wisdom as “the skill of living”.  We could call our overall philosophy of life a “worldview”.  This is the way we approach life with its promise and problems.

Maybe you remember hearing a three-point sermon and poem about problems.  Here it is.

”Problems”

I.  You’ve got’em.
II. I’ve got’em.
III. We’ve all got’em.
Poem: Adam had’em.

While it is easy to state the problem, discovering biblical solutions for life can be challenging.  Dr. Vance Havner (1901-1986) explains, “Jesus did not lay down minute rules to cover every little problem.  Had he done that He would soon have been out of date.”  Therefore, it is necessary to wade through issues related to trends, traditions, and truth.

I. Hold trends lightly.

Be aware of trends as you become aware of statistics.  It is one thing to be aware of statistics; it is another thing to become one.  Dean William R. Inge (1860-1954) quipped, “Whoever marries the spirit of this age will find himself a widower in the next.”

Beware of becoming trendy.  To be trendy means what is in style for the moment, or in accord with the latest fad or fashion.

We read a curious phrase in 1 Corinthians 7:31, “For the form of this world is passing away.”  Trends are passing not permanent.  To be “in” one day you can be “out” the next day.  Remember the word “contemporary” minus the prefix is “temporary”.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we should actually be trend setters in society.  The pages of history reveal the wonderful trends that come due to the influence of biblical Christianity.

James Russell Lowell (1819-1891), the great literary genius who was one-time U.S. minister-ambassador to Great Britain, was once at a banquet where the Christian faith (the mission enterprise, in particular) was being attacked by scoffers.  He spoke up and said, “I challenge any skeptic to find a ten square mile spot on this planet where they can live their lives in peace and safety and decency, where womanhood Is honored, where infancy and old age are revered, where they can educate their children, where the Gospel of Jesus Christ has not gone first to prepare the way.  If they find such a place, then I would encourage them to emigrate thither and there proclaim their unbelief.”

Trends can be negative or positive.  For example, genuine revival reverses negative trends and starts positive trends.  In fact, if negative trends are not reversed, I doubt it is genuine revival.

II. Hold traditions rightly.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary a “tradition” is “an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom).”[1]

In a WorldNetDaily® column titled “America’s Amnesia”, Dr. Walter E. Williams cited the following from Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (1917-2007), “For history is to the nation rather as memory is to the individual.  As an individual deprived of memory becomes disoriented and lost, not knowing where he has been or where he is going, so a nation denied a conception of its past will be disabled with its present and its future.”[2]

Some traditions are good and some are not. Paul the Apostle writes in 2 Thessalonians 2:15, “Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.”  Later in the same epistle, Paul writes, “But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.  For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you” (2 Thessalonians 3:6-7).

Some can genuinely testify,

“Faith of our fathers, holy faith!  We will be true to thee till death!”  We read in Jude 3 and 4, “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.  For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Some might consider “the faith once delivered” a tradition, as they might the Lord’s Supper and Believer’s Baptism.

From Mark 7:6-13,

“He answered and said to them, ‘Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, / But their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship Me, / Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.’  He said to them, ‘All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.  For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’  But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban’—’ (that is, a gift to God),  then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother,  making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down.  And many such things you do.”

From Matthew 15:6b we read, “Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.”

III. Hold truth tightly.

Dr. D. James Kennedy (1930-2007) shares the following in Character & Destiny: A Nation In Search of Its Soul,

“As [Dr.] Allan Bloom [1930-1992] has said, even if today’s high school and university students haven’t learned anything else in twelve years of school, the one thing that has been impressed upon their minds with indelible pressure is, ‘All truth is relative, and there are no absolutes.’  I heard about one student who may not have quite gotten the message.  When the professor said, ‘We can know nothing for certain,’ the young man raised his hand asked, ‘Professor, are you sure of that?’  and the teacher answered, ‘I’m certain.’  Now, that may be a joke, but it actually points out the underlying inconsistency and contradiction of this whole concept.  To say that there are no absolutes is a contradiction in terms because the statement itself is an absolute statement.  And to say there absolutely are no absolutes, by the principles of the most basic logic, is self-contradictory.”[3]

We read in Psalm 11:3, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

Dr. Henry M. Morris (1918-2006), scientist and founder of the Institute for Creation Research, states,

“The spiritual battle rages primarily now in the minds of men, who must decide between ‘the counsel of the ungodly’ and ‘the law of the Lord’ ([Psalm 1] verses 1 and 2), but this decision of the mind and will has all manner of consequences in life and character.

The counsel of the ungodly is nothing less than the philosophy of the natural man who seeks to understand his existence and control his destiny without regard to God.  It is man-centered rather than God-centered, humanistic rather than theistic, based on the myth of evolution instead of the fact of creation.  Standing in stark contrast is the infinite Word of God, revealing the Lord as sovereign Creator and Judge, and man as hopelessly lost without God’s salvation.”[4]

We have heard the statement, “All truth is God’s truth.”  While that statement may be true, we must be careful lest it mislead us.  In a well-meaning attempt to show there is no contradiction between science and the Bible, some unwittingly place science on the same level as Scripture.  Dr. D. James Kennedy explains,

“But please make the essential distinction between these two forms of knowledge.  One—the process of discovery—is changeable, expandable, and it is infinitely variable.  The other—divine revelation—is perfect, unchangeable, and infinitely reliable.  Relativity applies only to discovery and scientific knowledge.  Ethics, morals, and religion come through revelation, and we have been given this revelation from Christ.”[5]

John writes, “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’” (John 8:31-32).  This truth is real to God’s children, revealed by God’s Spirit, and recorded in God’s Word.

Jesus prayed to the Father, “Sanctify them by Your truth.  Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

Paul the Apostle writes in 1 Timothy 2:1-7,

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,  for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,  who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,  for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”

Dr. Peter Marshall (1902-1949), former chaplain of the United States Senate, once explained when the apostles preached the Gospel there were either riots or regeneration. Dr. D. James Kennedy adds, “In our time, we generally get a pat on the hand and, ‘Nice sermon, pastor,’ and that’s about all.  But the Scripture says that if we are really standing for the truth, and if we are convicting men of sin and their need of repentance, then we are going to be persecuted. . . .  In this world of moral relativism, it is risky business to believe in Jesus Christ.”[6] Paul the Apostle writes, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).

We read about irresponsible spiritual leaders in Isaiah 56:10-12,

“His watchmen are blind, / They are all ignorant; / They are all dumb dogs, / They cannot bark; / Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.  Yes, they are greedy dogs / Which never have enough.  And they are shepherds / Who cannot understand; / They all look to their own way, / Every one for his own gain, / From his own territory.  ‘Come,’ one says, ‘I will bring wine, / And we will fill ourselves with intoxicating drink; / Tomorrow will be as today, / And much more abundant.’”

Paul writes to Timothy, his son in the ministry,

“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:  Preach the word!  Be ready in season and out of season.  Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;  and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.  But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:1-5).

Conclusion

Dr. Henry M. Morris explains,

“Biblical Christianity is absolutely unique in the nature of its central personage and founder, Jesus Christ.  There is none other like Him in all history or even in all literature.  Some writers, of course, presume to place Christ as merely one in a list of great religious leaders, but this is absurd.  He stands in contrast to all others, not in line with them, not even at the head of the line.”[7]

Jesus Christ shares the following comforting words with His crestfallen followers in John 14:1-6, where we read,

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know.’  Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?’  Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”

British preacher, F. W. Robertson (1816-1853) once said,

“Truth lies in character.  Christ did not simply speak the truth; He was Truth—Truth through and through, for truth is a thing not of words but a life and being.”

Only under the Lordship of Jesus Christ can we properly answer the question, “How should we then live?”

Relevant?  Fitting in with their culture?  This is how silly and crazy some Churches can get as they seek to identify with their culture, and supposedly do things to reach people.  Notice that the name of the Church is the Wine Barrel Church. Maybe that should tell us all someting.   This would really be funny, if it were not so sad.  Thanks to Robin Foster for sharing such a wonderful video with all of us.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPzDfq1Lf_g&w=480&h=385]

So, when the research tells us that 91% of non-Christians see evangelicals as anti-homosexual, what are we supposed to do?  Quit saying that homosexuality is a sin?   Because, I’ll guarantee you that no matter how nice you try to say it, and no matter how many times you say that you love the homosexual person; whenever you say that the Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin, people are gonna accuse us of being anti-homosexual.   I’ve seen this first hand on more than one occasion.  The lost crowd just does not want to hear that it’s sin against God; plain and simple.

And, when 87% of the lost crowd sees evangelical Christians as judgmental, are we supposed to stop calling sin what it is…”sin?”  Because, listen, the lost, rebellious crowd will say this just because we call sin by it’s ugly name.  That’s just how a lost person is, when they’re living in those sins. They don’t like for their sin to be brought to light.  And, once again, no matter how nice and loving you try to be, once you name a sin as a sin, especially one that a person is living in; then you’re labeled as judgmental.  Go on a talk show, and as nice and as lovingly kind as you can possibly say it; say that any sex outside of the marriage boundary is a sin against God.  See how the crowd responds.   It wont be pretty.

Okay, the next thing on the research list is  that famous old, worn out line that a lot of lost people like to use about evangelical Chrisitans.  85% of the lost crowd sees us as hypocritical.  So, what’s new here?  I’ll bet this has been said ever since Noah first lifted a hammer and told people to get right with God, because it was gonna rain.  Christians have faults and shortcomings.  Every Christian sins; every last one of us.  We all fail to be all that God wants us to be.  So, everytime a Christian fails God, the lost crowd is waiting to pounce on it like  a coyote after a fat, plump bunny rabbit.  I think it makes them feel better about their own sins, when they can call Christians “hypocrites.”  I think it eases their consciences just a little bit to point out the failures of a Believer.  It gives them a good excuse to stay lost.  And, you know what, lost people just dont understand grace.  Again, what do we do with this info?  I mean, we cant stop sinning.  We’re gonna sin.  We’re gonna fail God.  So, what good is it to know this info?  How does this help us?  What in the world can we do with it?

Now, I’m not gonna go over every single research item that was listed in the Spring 2010 On Mission magazine by NAMB.  But, here are the other topics: Non-Christians see evangelicals as Old Fashioned 78%; Too involved in Politics 75%; Out of Touch with Reality 72%; Insensitive to Others  70%; Boring 68%; Not Accepting of Others Faiths  64%; Confusing 61%.   Well, some of these things we can work on.  The old fashioned thing can be remedied, and it is being remedied by many, many Churches with contemporary music, technology, and dressing more cool and hip at Church.  The “Too involved in Politics” thing is something that we’ll always be accused of, if we ever take a political stand for moral reasons.  I do agree that some Pastors are too involved in politics.  But, I’m glad that some Christians feel led to get into politics, in order to do good.   And, any political stand that we take will be seen as too much for a lot of the lost crowd out there

Now, I’d imagine that evangelical Christians will always be looked upon as being out of touch with reality by the lost crowd.  After all, we look thru the lens of faith at the world, and the lost crowd doesn’t.  We can work on being more sensitive to others, but I doubt that us being more sensitive to others will ever be good enough for the lost crowd.  The boring thing….well, I was bored with worship and Bible study and prayer, too, back when I was lost and living in sin.  It didn’t do anything for me, as a lost person.  I doubt that there was anything that could’ve been done to make it less boring for me, as long as I was lost and living in sin.  Then, the “Not Accepting of Other’s Faiths” thing…well, this is just how it’s always gonna be.  How could it ever be seen as any different?  I mean, as Christians, who believe the Bible, Muslims are lost and wrong, and they worship a false god.  Buddhists are lost, and they will not go to Heaven.  Jews are not going to Heaven when they die, unless they put their faith in Jesus as their Messiah.  Mormons are involved in a cult, and they definitely worship a false god.  So, how in the world could we ever change this perspective, and still be true to God and to His Word?  The Bible is exclusive.  God is exclusive.  All dogs don’t go to Heaven.

You know what I think?  I think that the lost, rebellious crowd is always gonna view us, Christ Followers, as a strange and peculiar people, no matter what we do.  I think that the lost crowd is gonna look upon us in a bad light, no matter what.  I think that the lost crowd is not gonna be accepting of our beliefs, nor change their view of us, unless we’re willing to compromise our faith.  They will look upon us in a bad way, unless we’re willing stop living for the Lord.  I knew this before this study was ever done, and we all knew this before NAMB chose to put it in their magazine.  I mean, I didn’t expect to win any popularity contest in the arena of the world, as a Believer.  Who does?  Anyone?  The simple fact is that the lost crowd does not like us due to our walk with God; due to our being a follower of Jesus; due to us calling sin what it is; due to us preaching the Gospel….exhorting them to repent and put their faith in Jesus. 

I’m not really sure why NAMB put this in their magazine, nor what we’re supposed to do with this study; but I’m sure that there’ll be some wimpy Christians out there that this will really disturb.  There will be some namby, pamby Christians out there, who’ll be really upset that the lost crowd doesn’t like us.  And, they’ll want to make every change possible to “get the lost crowd to like us.”  Why?  Why are there some Believers out there, who think like this?  Who think that we have to please the worldly crowd? Who think that we have to be acceptable to the lost bunch?  Who honestly think that somehow we can “make the lost people out there like us and accept us?”  Who think this study  is even important to know? 

Are we gonna stop preaching against the sins of adultery and fornication and lying?  Are we gonna start preaching that “all dogs go to Heaven?”  Do we need to start telling homosexuals that “you’re ok, and I’m ok?”  Are we gonna start having scantily clothed dancing girls in our church, so that the men will not be bored?  And,  sign up men from the church to be in our newly formed, worship leaders group the “Holy Chippendales,” so that the ladies will be more excited about coming to church?  Do we need to start advertising that pre-worship cocktails will be available in the lobby?  Maybe that’ll make the lost crowd feel better about us? or, at least,  less bored with our worship? 

I dont think so.  I think that what we really need is  for Christians to be more like the Believers in the book of Acts, and turn our world upside down.  I really think that we need to trust the power of the Holy Spirit to call people to salvation.  I really think that we need to preach the Gospel, stand on the truth of God’s Word, and leave the results to God.  I really think that we should tweak how we do worship without violating Scripture; be creative in our outreach without getting stupid or crazy; and be open to making sensible changes that might open doors for us to able to reach lost people, without compromising our faith.  Now, please know that I was not saying that NAMB, nor Barna, was saying anything about compromising, nor even hinting at compromising.  I’m really not sure why they felt that this study was important.  Maybe they just did it, and printed it merely for information’s sake, or out of curiousity, or to tell us what we all should already be aware of? I don’t know.  But, I can just see the wheels turning in some “Evangelical Christians” minds about this info.  They might start thinking of all the things that we need to do to be more acceptable to the lost crowd.  I can just hear their thoughts about the shame it is that the lost crowd would think this of us, and how we need to change this perception. 

Again, I ask how?  And, will anything really change their perception of us?  Do we honestly think that the lost crowd will ever view us in a truly positive light?  I mean, if we really live for God, and preach the Gospel?

UPDATE:  Franklin Graham was cancelled from speaking at the Pentagon for some remarks he made about Islam.  Franklin Graham spoke the truth about Islam, and he was censored.  Anyone surprised?  Some of the people, who think that lost people will love us are probably a little shocked.

Another Pastor told me, one time, that a certain fella went crazy on the Bible. He said that the man started studying his Bible, too much, and it caused him to lose his mind!

I’d like to know what your thoughts are on these two statements. And, is a “big crowd” what’s the measure of success in a church?  Is Bible preaching, or expository preaching, or text driven preaching not the way to go, if you really want to be a successful Pastor?

Maybe we should have the Holy Ghost Hokie Pokie at our Churches, in order to get the crowd coming?!!?  Peter Lumpkins had this video at his blog, and it reminded me of what some Pastors and Churches do in their attempt to be “relevant” and gain a big crowd.  I mean, if a big crowd is our measure of success, and we’re willing to just preach shallow, fluffy, psychological, self help messages to gain the crowd, then shouldn’t we look to things like the Hokie Pokie, or Christian Country line dancing, maybe, depending on your culture, to “reach” people; to get the crowds?  Take a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTPowYQ-jVU

I’d really like to hear your thoughts on this.

Before I articulate my thesis I want our readers to understand a couple of things.  First, I am not against doing social ministry.  I believe that every church must involve herself in reaching out to community projects and other secular ministries in order to help meet the needs of the poor.  Second, I do not discount the power of meeting the needs of someone that is in need of help.  It certainly opens a door that otherwise would not be opened.  Third, I am by no means insinuating that the ministries mentioned below are pushing for a Social Gospel.  With that said, allow me to reveal my concern that we may be heading down a road in a return to a Social Gospel movement within the SBC.

Some leading SBC Churches

I am limiting these brief examples to two churches in North Carolina.  Let me first say that I applaud these churches in what they are doing.  I also want to applaud their evangelistic efforts.  Elevation Church is only four years old and Pastor Steven Furtick is doing an outstanding job.  According to the Elevation website they began with 121 people in 2006 and have seen over 6200 people make decisions to follow Christ.  Of those 6200 they have seen 1930 baptisms which translates into approximately 500 people per yer.   Also, Summit Church in Durham is doing a remarkable job with evangelism.  While their baptism rates are not at the 500 yearly mark they are averaging around 100 baptisms per year.  Elevation does not publish an Annual Church Profile (ACP) and Summit does.  Thus, the numbers on Summit are straight from their ACP while Elevation numbers are what is posted on the website today.  It does raise the question if the 6200 professions of faith are those who are members of the church.  If they are church members, then does the church claim that a person joining Elevation is “making a profession of faith”?   However, what I want to point our reader’s to is the projects these churches have going on.

Elevation Church recently did a “Love Week” centered around Valentine’s Day.  It is during this week that volunteers from the church volunteer their time in the community through a community project.  These projects usually are located around homeless shelters, clothes closets, and food distribution points.  Summit’s Church in Durham has been involved in doing ministry outreach in their community through a project called Hope for RDU.  Summit is doing a great job in helping to meet various societal needs in the RDU area.  One particular project is Spring Saunter where they are raising money to build a Habitat for Humanity house.  It should be noted that Summit has been recognized by the Durham Public School system for their involvement in their public schools. It should also be noted that Summit’s Pastor, Dr. JD Greear, was the keynote speaker at the 2010 Martin Luther King Jr. ecumenical gathering. I commend Dr. Greear on his presentation of the Gospel at such a gathering.  Notice what he said;

the center of…Christianity… is a man on the cross loving people who don’t love Him, pouring His life out for people who aren’t even interested in Him.

You can read the full manuscript here

Are these two isolated examples what I am basing the question of a movement toward the Social Gospel in the SBC?  While these two examples are relevant to my concerns, in and of themselves they do not reveal any kind of real concern.  However, when one looks across the convention what does one see?  There are many churches doing exactly what you see these two churches doing but without the evangelistic results in a personal evangelism of sharing the gospel.  Many churches, who were once hot for evangelism, are now attributing their growth to nothing more than having community events and making certain the church is presented as any other non-profit organization concerned with doing good.  Many secularist see this and acknowledge that one can “give back” to the community and also get a tax deduction on their gifts. Thus, they join the church with a desire to invest in some social ministries.  Then as the church promotes projects they have to promote it in a way of how they will help provide food and other basic necessities.

Let’s look at a recent blog that reports Dr. Cecil Sherman’s presentation of the history of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and it ties this together.  The nicest Moderate I have ever met,  Dr. Tony Cartledge, used to be Editor of our Baptist state paper here in NC and is now Professor of Old Testament at Campbell University.  In a recent blog article, about the sixteen year celebration of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, Dr. Cartledege wrote;

Although some early participants wanted CBF to focus on single issues, Sherman said, its early and continuing focus has been to provide a “missions delivery system for the churches” that defined missions as more than evangelism and church starts, to support Baptist theological education, and “to teach Baptist polity to people who have forgotten it or never knew it.”

Notice that missions is defined as more than evangelism and church starts.  Please understand that I agree with that statement.  However, I have found out that in 20 years of ministry if one does not keep evangelism and church starts at the forefront of the people then evangelism and church starts will be an after thought of the people.  What seems to be the norm across the convention is to be more receptive to things we usually would not have even tolerated.  Why do I say this?  We have the elected President of a state convention nominating a Pastor that does internet baptisms by proxy, has a woman on staff he references as “Pastor”, and calls himself the “Naked Preacher”.  What is truly amazing is the ones that taught me these type of antics were not tolerable, who are now in leadership positions,  have become mute.

One other incident took place in a conference I was in attendance.  A question of how the church he served did outreach was asked of a leading pastor and his response was; ‘I do not teach my people to go door-to-door because that is outdated.  I teach them to take the gospel as they go to work and in their daily lives.’  Do not get me wrong, I am not against this type of teaching.  However, the pastor seemed to separate the difference in teaching to fish and fishing.  How does one effectively share the Gospel if one is not taught to share the Gospel?  This pastor seemed to indicate that it was taught by osmosis and his people were just heading out sharing the Gospel.  On the other hand, this pastor stood and told story after story of how the church was raising money to give to world hunger, and volunteering at the local community clothes closet.

I say all of this to remind all of us, the Gospel needs to be presented at some point in time.  However, if the road heading out of Baptist Zion is a road of the Social Gospel, then the SBC will never experience a Great Commission Resurgence.

Without splitting hairs and engendering debate on the dichotomy that often emerges in what Eugene Peterson calls the Great Omission of the Great Commission: making disciples, I want to challenge a couple of assumptions that form the foundation of the philosophy known as the church growth movement. One is the incessant need by some to somehow study cultures or even generations to target that age group with a worship style or church expression that results in the development of a congregation that is mainly composed of a particular age group. One point of such emphases is at times to disparage the existing form of the church at large and send out flyers insisting this isn’t your Grandma’s church. The unintended consequence (or perhaps anticipated) is a church that is ‘targeted’ at youngsters while devaluing the contributions of older adults (and perhaps a direct contradiction of the imperative of Titus 2). Proponents of this approach suggest: it works so don’t curse what God is blessing. Success in numbers is trumpeted to suggest the validity of the practice as culturally relevant. Critics are charged with not wanting church growth or a parochial mindset. The unanticipated consequence, if not clearly articulated and examined, is the downplaying of biblical distinctives such as the admonition that the dividing walls have fallen as in Galatians 3:28 (no Jew or Greek, male or female, in Christ Jesus). The temptation with such a strategy is to fit the gospel into the culture by adopting and adapting methodology in a capitulation to the extant culture. Today it may be alcohol. Tomorrow it could be peyote.

The danger in such a dynamic is the reduction of the church to a pragmatic tool. Van Gelder has suggested we use “church” as a noun rather than as an adjective. Perhaps the obstacle that needs to be removed for us to ‘be’ the church rather than just ‘do’ church is to realize that God will build His church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. Reformulating biblical language to make it user-friendly often dumbs down our worship and leads to biblical illiteracy. If you can learn to order at Starbucks you can sure learn the biblical meaning of propitiation. Downplaying biblical distinctives as not to offend the crowd is at best a misunderstanding of the imperative to preach the whole counsel of God. Embracing research without the understanding that real church growth is necessarily ‘supernatural’ engenders man-centered and pragmatic tendencies. Trumpeting God’s grace while dismissing God’s wrath creates an unbalanced gospel. It’s like killing all the coyotes to save the cute rabbits. There are new plants and churches that are faithfully strategizing and supernaturally multiplying. May God add to their number! Above all may the church be the church to the glory of God.

I have given them Your Word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of this world, even as I am not of this world. I do not ask you to take them out of this world, but keep them from the evil one. They are not of this world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As you have sent Me into the world I also have sent them into the world. (John 17:14-18).

This paradox of grace and truth, in but not of, is a distinction that is often missing in this present age. In many ways it is an inevitable consequence of the seeker-driven church growth movement, as the pendulum swung away from absolutes and stances for truth to a Cole Porter culture of Anything Goes. Collectively the so-called “emerging church” movement is harder to pin down than Jell-O because it is an amorphous group with an eclectic feel. As such the whole postmodern phenomenon is hard to pigeonhole. Still the overarching idea is to contextualize the culture.

I do not think for a moment that the church should aspire to become irrelevant.

There is always a need for Christians to speak the gospel into their own context.

Rather, my concern is with the ever-present danger of overcontextualizing. Consider what happens to a church that is always trying to appeal to an increasingly post-Christian culture. Almost inevitably, the church itself becomes post-Christian.[ii]

Such a clarion call should be heeded as the note of a clear trumpet to every local church leader. In fact, this treatment is a short prescription to pastors and church leaders for discernment in the age of Oprah. Of course, the true cure will take much more medicine, but all of us can seek counsel from the Great Physician.

Perhaps the element most missing in an era of placebo prescriptions is the need for discernment. The pressing need is not for the church to emerge into something our culture would see as pertinent in a narcissistic society but that we recognize what is real and relevant is the redemption God offers through Jesus Christ. The church can not afford to market tunes on cyberspace ipods playing downloaded ditties for an adoring audience. Instead we need to engage our culture with something more than trivial pursuits. We need the truth. This is one element much of the emerging church wants to airbrush to minimize hurt feelings and assuage egos so that people might find healing (see how therapeutic our language has become).

Out of this all-too human tension and polarity is borne the perennially paradoxical quest for, and escape from, the truth. Truth is a daunting, difficult thing; it is also the greatest thing in the world. Yet we are chronically ambivalent toward it. We seek it . . . and we fear it. Our better side wants to pursue truth wherever it leads; our darker side balks when the truth begins to lead us anywhere we do not want to go. Let the truth be damned if the truth would damn us! We want both to serve the truth and to be served by it. Such is our uneasy lot, east of Eden[iii]

We as leaders have bought into this by the way we judge our own effectiveness. The usual question circulated in church circles is framed in the form of growth and success. The supernatural is reduced to a spreadsheet: budgets and bodies. Nothing is inherently wrong with numbers and spiritual growth, unless we throw out truth to expand our own empire. Many banish any mention of offensive words or topics and pander to the popular rather than the peccadilloes of our own personalities. Inevitably, there is a subtle tendency for the pendulum to swing too far away from truth and lose the paradox between grace and truth, in and not of. Ask Joel Osteen, the seventh flag over Texas, and pastor of the buzz of Houston, Lakewood Church, a megachurch with over 30,000 people attending each week. His appearance on Larry King presented opportunities to document his belief in the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the only way to God and Joel passed repeatedly. He later apologized on his website:

God has given me a platform to present the Gospel to a very diverse audience. In my desire not to alienate the people that Jesus came to save, I did not clearly communicate the convictions that I hold so precious. I will use this as a learning experience and believe that God will ultimately use it for my good and His glory. I am comforted by the fact that He sees my heart and knows my intentions. I am so thankful that I have friends, like you, who are willing to share their concerns with me.[iv]

We should take that at face value and offer forgiveness. Still, even the posted response reveals a need for discernment in the paradox of grace and truth. The shift is subtle but substantial: the desire not to alienate trumps the truth we need to communicate. Jesus Christ is always a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to those who do not believe but precious and valuable to those who embrace the indescribable Christ (I Peter 2:7-8).

The second element that leaders need to examine is how this deconstruction of truth leads to a different message in terms of presentation. There is a sense that above all amusement matters in matters that matter. Entertain! Be creative! I am surprised we do not rewrite John 1 to say in the beginning was the image rather than the Word. Gurus from Brian McLaren to Leonard Sweet tell us unless we are image driven we are passé.[v] Attention spans are short and audiences do not know scripture so keep it short and keep it fluffy. The effective church service needs to be the EBay of the spiritual surfer. Such insight offers some probing analysis of where our culture is but offers little solution for transforming individuals into the image of Jesus Christ. There’s nothing wrong with offering different mediums in the Mars Hills of the American arena, but we should notice that the Acts 17 dialogue at the Areopagus in Athens led to sneering and snootiness when Paul mentioned repentance and judgment and a Man raised from the dead! The message conveyed did not amuse or bemuse but scored a direct hit. Damaris and Dionysius left the crowd to follow Jesus Christ.

It is interesting that many in the contemporary church insist that an insatiable appetite for innovation leads down a road that increasingly stiff arms Scripture and embraces experience and image. The seductive power of a media monopoly is indeed as Neal Postman so prophetically predicted amusing us to death.[vi] Reality television has created a world without substance. The corrective for the church is not to indiscriminately embrace image and discard substance. The paradox is we can do both by using Image to point to the inspired, but in the end faith still comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). In essence, the ultimate goal is not amusement or bemusement but clarity that brings transformation by justification and sanctification. In a sense, we are back in the backwoods of biblical illiteracy in our culture and people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). Rather than botoxing the Bible to make it appear more attractive, our greatest need is the unvarnished veracity of God’s Word. It seems leaders should be given out larger doses of truth rather than pre-packaged bite size bits of the paraphrased pragmatism substituted for Scripture. Personally, this pastor has heard it all as reasons for short sermons to the point of being called Pastor Pharaoh because I will not let my people go. Still, God tells us to preach the word not to condense the truth. Too many tell us to embrace the spirit of the age when we should embrace the age of His Holy Spirit.

Today, challenges to the faith come from a consumerist mentality. It’s ok to be a Christian today – just as long as you treat is as a consumer choice, as one option among many. . . Image is everything. That’s postmodernism in a nutshell.[vii]

Postmoderns need to emerge into a church that God can faithfully use to transform a culture. There is a greater sin than boredom – and that’s discounting the sufficiency of Scripture and a God that is able. The truth is the dying do not need the image of living water they need the substance of the person of Jesus Christ. The cleverness of the age will not satisfy the slake of the soul. Only the unadulterated milk of God’s pure Word can satisfy the craving of a generation without God. We do not need to dumb down the message but to lift up the cross so all might be drawn. God uses the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe. It is not the cleverness of speech, which in fact can void the cross of Christ, but the power of God that saves (see I Cor. 1:18, 21).

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[i] Randy Alcorn, The Grace and Truth Paradox (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, 2003).

[ii] Philip Graham Ryken, City on a Hill (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2003), 22.

[iii] Douglass Groothus, Truth Decay (Downers Grove, Il.: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 9.

[iv] Joel Osteen, A Posted Letter, www.joelosteen.com/site/LarryKingLetter

[v] Leonard Sweet, Postmodern Pilgrims (Nashville, Tn.: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 2000).

[vi] Neal Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (New York: Penguin Press, 1985), see pp 78-79.

[vii] Charles Colson, Lies that Go Unchallenged in Popular Culture (2005, Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale Publishers, 2005), 365.